Continuing our study in Chapters 50 & 51 of the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah we pick up where we left off at verse 13 of Jeremiah Chapter 51.
The Lord addresses Babylon, Iraq as "you who dwell by many waters, abundant in treasures."
We believe the fact brought out in verse 13 that Babylon is located between the Euphrates and Tigris River, and is sitting upon one of the richest oil reserves in the earth, will contribute to the massive destruction detailed in the forthcoming prophecies.
Rivers flood and oil burns.
God then declares Babylon's decisive end will be delivered to her in the same measure that she has coveted, that is craved and begrudged. By the picture we are given of her prophetic end we can determine that the measure of her covetousness is staggering.
Anyone who has seen th overwhelming opulence Saddam Hussein and his family of cohorts enjoyed have been privy to a sample of the avarice of Iraq's leaders. Hundreds of millions of American dollars were fund hidden in the walls of one of Saddam's palaces. This was just an unknown portion of what we would call, cash on hand, which was accumulated in what Iraq would say were hard times. Iraq's covetousness is insatiable.
The wealth coming into Iraq before the wars and embargos took hold is unimaginable. Yet, Iraq started a war with Iran over gulf ports, attacked and temporarily took over Kuwait and threatened a war with Saudi Arabia over oil.
In verse 14 God swears an oath to Himself that He will fill Babylon with men, as if they were locusts. Locust plagues are so dense that when viewed from a distance they can appear as dark swarming clouds.
In verses 15 & 16 God brings the reader face to face with the reality of His power to uphold an oath. The sacred oath He had just made was a vow made from the one and only true God to Himself. He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth and all the forces that indwell them.
That God , with apparent purpose makes known that "He brings the wind out of His treasuries," causes us to once more give serious consideration to whether or not it will be His will to direct His treasury of wind to unleash agents of death.
When Iraq eventually uses its hidden arsenals of chemical, biological and perhaps radioactive weapons, the strength and direction that the wind is blowing will be the critical factors which will determine success or failure.
Ironically, we perceive by prophecy that a temporary victory by Iraq with these weapons may be included in God's plan for her eventual destruction.
In verses 17 & 18 of Jeremiah 51 God dismisses the idols and idol makers of Iraq as foolish, shameful and futile. He proclaims that they will all perish in the day of this judgement.
Verses 19-24 then opens with a promise from God to Jacob, which means Israel (see Gen. 32:28), that their portion of what will befall them out of this war is not like the annihilation which has been prophesied for the idols and idol makers of Babylon.
Israel will never perish, for they are the tribe of the Lord's inheritance.
Verses 20-24 then give evidence of Israel's involvement with this war and of her future stand in the face of many more enemies during these final days.
God begins by declaring that Israel is His personal battle ax that He will use to break the nation of Iraq. Again we see how this can never be interpreted as fulfilled prophecy, nor can it be for the days of the approaching Tribulation Period.
Israel never overpowered ancient Babylon and during the Tribulation Period Israel will be constantly facing possible annihilation up until the return of Jesus Christ.
God says that not only will He use Israel to break the nation of Iraq into pieces, but that whole kingdoms will be destroyed through her.
It is our firm belief that this Iraqi/Israeli phase of the war will be directly tied in with the great victory of Israel over a number of her other enemies which are prophesied of in Psalm 83. This will include the defeat of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians by Israel's weapons of war.
Verses 21-24 reveals that Israel will be merciless in her assault.
In verse 24 God tells us that this war has been brought upon Iraq as a repayment for all the evil they have done in Israel.
We have spoken about the evil of Babylon in the ancient past. For more details about the horrors perpetrated by ancient Iraq on the people of Israel we recommend that Ch. 52 of Jeremiah and the five chapters of Lamentations be read. There you will read of a man's children being killed in front of him before his eyes were put out and how mothers were driven to cannibalism.
In modern days Iraq has overtly attacked Israel without provocation on four different occasions and has sponsored and funded terrorism against both the Jewish military and civilians.
We believe Iraq will soon be guilty of something far worse which will bring on the unrestrained fury of Israel described in verses 20-24 of Jeremiah 51.
Verses 25 & 26 of this chapter are extremely insightful as to what kind of weapons may be used to destroy Babylon. God first reminds Babylon that her evil goes far beyond the present place and moment. It has been an ongoing evil which has poisoned the whole earth. The false religions and godless globalism she has spawned has brought forth immeasurable destruction.
God declares that He is going to turn her into a burnt mountain. She is referred to as a symbolic mountain of strength. A burnt mountain, like the core of a volcano, is void of any life. She is to come crashing down like a crumbling fortress.
God prophesies, "They shall not take from you a stone for a corner Nor a stone for a foundation, But you shall be desolate forever."
The information supplied in this verse is absolutely stunning to a student of Bible prophecy. First we have more conclusive evidence given to us that this prophecy has never been fulfilled in the ancient or recent past. Then secondly, a powerful indication that an atomic weapon will be used.
In the early nineteenth century, German archaeologist Robert Koldewey reported that villagers were still mining and selling the durable kiln-fired bricks from the site of ancient Babylon. Koldewey documented that there were four Arab villages still standing on the original Babylonian site. One of the villages was named Kweiresh.
Saddam Hussein in recent times forced the village of Kweiresh to move between 1987 and 1988 so that the rebuilding of Babylon could continue unhindered.
There is no time known of in recorded history when Babylon has been without residents, let alone "desolate forever" as prophesied. Also, the stones from the area have obviously been perfectly reusable.
The question remaining is, "What kind of force could so destroy or contaminate a stone in such a manner that men would not even want to remove it from the area for building?"
On June 7, 1981 Israel sent its warplanes on a daring raid that destroyed Saddam Hussein's Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad, thus putting a temporary halt to Iraq's attempt to develop Atomic weapons.
The aftermath of the 1991 Persian Gulf war confirmed that Saddam Hussein was still devoted to developing a nuclear bomb and was in fact on the verge of having this weapon of mass destruction.
Since 1991 reports and evidence keep surfacing that Saddam Hussein has never stopped investing time and money into attempts to develop a nuclear weapon.
Many believe it is naive to underestimate that Saddam has not produced or purchased the plutonium needed for this weapon of his dreams over the many years. If this were to be proven true we expect that the fissionable material will be found underneath Babylon, Iraq. Upon her destruction the contamination of the stones in the area would coincide with what is described in Bible prophecy.
Other chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction might be concealed in tunnels under Babylon and perhaps a nuclear device will be needed to reach the deadly labyrinth.
Until the nuclear age it was inconceivable to imagine a force that could contaminate the stones of Babylon in such a manner. Before Saddam Hussein it was unimaginable how Babylon could be standing in her original place to be destroyed...and before the post 1991 gulf war UN arms inspections it was unimaginable why Babylon, Iraq would ever be a global focal point for destruction, yet all these elements are now in place in 2003!
Scripture indicates to us that the search for Saddam's weapons of mass destruction during these final stages of what has been dubbed "Operation Iraqi Freedom" will one day soon produce the evidence sought by President George Bush.
The weapons are there, or else Saddam Hussein would have avoided this war by giving the complete and unfettered access inspectors demanded over the many years. He refused access only so he could have time to hide them, and Babylon, we are convinced, will reveal the heart of his efforts.
There is a strange and disturbing vision given in Zechariah 5:5-11.
A woman, who is the personification of Wickedness is shown to be in a basket. Two other women with wings like storks lift the basket up between heaven and the earth. The basket with Wickedness inside is then carried to a house built in Shinar for it for when it is ready. The land of Shinar is modern day Iraq.
It is provocative to consider the possibility that the great Wickedness to be found in the land of Shinar will be weapons of mass destruction and that its house will be found at Babylon.
Although we are just entertaining speculation at this point, another revelation shown in this vision adds fuel for thought.
Radiation detectors are being used extensively in Iraq by teams relentlessly hunting for Saddam's hidden weapons.
In verses 7-8 of Zechariah 5 in the vision of Wickedness a lead cover is twice mentioned to be put over the basket that holds her.
Perhaps it is only just a coincidence, but as anyone who has ever had an X ray knows, of all the metals on the earth, it is lead that is used as a shield for radiation.
At any moment the Lord can bring an individual's life to an end. If you have not trusted Christ for the forgiveness of your sins then we cannot stress too strongly that you do so this very moment.
There is no other means of salvation then by trusting in the Risen Savior Jesus Christ. These are the last days and the removal of the Church to Heaven by the Son of God at the event known as the Rapture can take place at any moment (I Thess. 4:15-18). You don't want to miss it.